BENGALURU: Two brothers in their 20s, who thrashed a three-year-old girl to death in September 2020 claiming they would rid her of evil spirits, were convicted and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment by a Chitradurga court.
This is the first conviction in a witchcraft case after the state government passed the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act in 2020.
The convicted are N Parashuram, 24, and N Rakesh, 20, from Ajjikyatanahalli in Holalkere, around 230km from Bengaluru. The duo was arrested in September 2020 on charges of torturing Ramya (name changed) to death. The conviction order was passed on Tuesday by principal and sessions court Judge Prema Managoli, who slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the brothers.
Ramya's father Ranga (name changed) told TOI that the conviction brings closure to the incident. He said Ramya would often face health issues.
None of 30 witnesses turned hostile in case
Ranga, a farmer who lives with wife and their two-year-old daughter, said: "I request villagers to not fall prey to any superstitious practice. No parents should undergo this trauma."
"I met Rakesh one day. He claimed his brother Parashuram gets possessed often and has helped many villages get rid of their problems. Trusting him, I took my daughter to Parashuram in September 2020. Using a lemon, he performed pooja and, to my surprise, Ramya got better. On September 27, Parashuram told me a ghost was residing in her and he would remove it. My wife took our daughter to their house. They locked Ramya in and beat her up with a cane. The next thing we knew was Ramya was dead."
During investigation, police learnt that the girl pleaded with the brothers to let go of her, but the duo did not stop thrashing her till she collapsed. The next day, Chikkajajur police arrested Parashuram and Rakesh on murder charges and invoked Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act. The brothers were in judicial custody of Chitradurga district prison. The accused were present when the court delivered its verdict.
Public prosecutor B Ganesh Naik said it was a rare case which saw no witnesses turning hostile. "There were 30 witnesses, including police and doctors, and they spoke from their heart. The villagers explained in the court how they beat her up in the name of a ritual. Her body bore 19 injury marks and medical reports confirmed she succumbed to the injuries," he said.
